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In 1993, the first Scrum team introduced a new role — the ScrumMaster. This person was explicitly “not a manager — more of a servant-leader, something between a team captain and a coach.”¹ Instead of managing the team or the team’s process, the ScrumMaster:

Helps the team figure out what is in their way of being an better, more effective team at delivering what their customers actually need.

Champions improvements that the team is unable to make for themselves, influencing those with the power to enact change.

Fundamentally, the ScrumMaster role is about developing people... and the teams they form, helping both individuals and teams realize their potential. A good ScrumMaster accelerates the rate of improvement while enriching the experience for all involved.

About the Author

Jim York works with real teams doing real work. He coaches, teaches, writes, and speaks on Lean and Agile principles and practices. He has been the keynote and speaker at various Agile conferences and has held an number of leadership roles in the Agile community including the Scrum Alliance and the Agile Alliance. Jim is both a Certified Enterprise Coach℠ and a Certified Scrum Trainer®, one of only a handful of people world-wide to hold both of these top-level guide certifications from the Scrum Alliance. He has coached several organizations through their adoption of Agile including NPR, McKinsey & Company IT, GE Healthcare, and Capital One.